US not willing to play midwife role between India, Pak

Washington, Nov 24 (PTI) Firmly ruling out mediation
between India and Pakistan, Special Representative for
Pakistan and Afghanistan Richard Holbrooke has said the US
would support the two countries if they decide to resume the
talks but was not willing to play the "role of a midwife".

He also said Pakistan should not see Prime Minister of
India Manmohan Singh's visit to the US as a "diminution of the
importance we attach to them".

Holbrooke said the US would support them if they
decide to resume the talks but was "not willing to play the
role of a midwife".

His comments came hours before Singh was to meet
President Barack Obama at the White House where the two
leaders are expected to take their strategic relationship to a
new level.

The remarks also came a week after Indo-Pak relations
found its way into the Sino-US joint statement issued after
talks between Obama and his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao.

India took strong objection to the reference and had
made it clear that it is not ready to accept "guardianship" of
anybody, whether China, the US or any other country, even if
mild-handed.

Holbrooke said fanning differences between India and
Pakistan was not justified because the two countries "live
side by side and have to live together" and the US wanted to
help them both.

Holbrooke said: "all Americans are delighted" with
Singh's current visit to Washington "but no one in Pakistan
should see this as a diminution of the importance we attach to
them."

The US, he said, was seeking to improve relations with
all three countries in the South Asian region, India, Pakistan
and China.

"Every country will benefit from improvement in the
area," he was quoted as saying by Dawn newspaper.

Holbrooke said the US had consulted "no other country
more closely than Pakistan" on Afghanistan because no other
country was more directly linked to it. PTI ETB
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